This invention relates to load regulators for use in machine arrangements where a load is to be applied to a workpiece in a fashion that presents an indication of the load at all times and that permits regulation of the load.
Load regulators for this purpose normally are in the form of air cylinders which require plumbing, air filters, regulators, pressure gauges and lubricators to accomplish the function of applying a controlled pressure to a workpiece or a machine part or other device. The relatively expensive assembly of components required for the air pressure-type regulators has usually been justified on the basis that it enables the operator to read a pressure gauge as a measure of the load being applied to the workpiece.
In addition to the undue expense of these current systems, the air pressure-type regulators usually lack a direct readout of the actual force applied to the workpiece.
Thus, there is a need for simplified load regulators which are easier to adjust and which provide a direct readout of actual load force.